Notebook or laptop computers (or “notebooks”) have found increasing use since their humble beginnings. Whereas at one time they were looked upon as devices for occasional or even recreational use, their vastly increased computing power and sophistication, as developed over the past several years, has led to their being used in place of, and not just as a supplement to, desktop computers. Technology has even progressed to the stage where in the context of many working environments, system maintenance on notebooks can be performed remotely, along with other scheduled tasks, in the absence of a user. It is even the case that in many companies, employees are instructed to leave their notebooks installed in a docking station and powered on at all times (i.e., “24/7”).
Accordingly, the direct physical demands placed on notebooks have increased in direct step with the trends just mentioned. This is particularly an acute issue when considering that hard disk drive (HDD) motors, and their very mechanical power, are constrained by space limitations imposed by notebooks. Thus, whereas desktops or other computers have greater space available, the space available in notebooks places design constraints on the use of fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) motors for HDD's. FDB motors use an oil-like fluid that is pumped into the thrust bearing by spiral or herringbone grooves, creating a pressure that lifts the thrust bearing off of the thrust plate and allows the motor to spin with very little friction. While this normally works very effectively for notebooks undergoing moderate or reasonable use, there is an all too well known failure condition encountered in the face of long periods of continuous motor operation. Particularly, after very long periods (typically several hundred hours) of continuous use, small air bubbles can form in the oil and cause excess cavitation. If this condition continues it can lead to more friction and eventually keep the motor from being able to maintain spin speed properly.
In the light of greatly increased notebook use, the condition has become so widely known and prevalent that the generally accepted remedy (or “preventative cure”) is to “spin” the motor “down” (i.e., disable the motor) on a regular basis. In an everyday, consumer-oriented notebook environment, this will typically happen anyway through system suspend as the notebook is being transported, or through system shutdown when it is simply not in use. But the industrial applications mentioned above, where notebooks are often running at literally all hours of the day, require a concerted approach to imposing spin-downs on a regular basis.
Notwithstanding the air bubble issue mentioned above, there are other design concerns with FDB motors which may be addressed by periodic spin-downs. Such concerns include an overall wear life concern.
Accordingly, a need has been recognized in connection with facilitating spin-downs of HDD motors in a notebook environment in an unobtrusive and convenient manner that will ensure optimal conditions for prolonging HDD motor life and avoiding problems such as cavitation as discussed above.